About Devi Navakam (Namostute) from Trinidad program

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Jaya Guru Datta.

 

The following is a transcription of H.V. Prasad in Trinidad speaking about "Devi Navakam".

The words and meaning are posted here in JAIGURUDATTA group....

click on >files >Devi Navakam.

 

It DOES take us to Devi Loka.

 

Sri Guru Datta

Jaya Sri Mata

 

Hanuman

 

 

"Jaya Guru Datta

The bhajan which you listened to after the sacred Lalitha Sahasranama chanting by Puja Sri

Swamiji--is popularly called "Namostute". It is literary gem in Sanskrit composition. One

of the most complex Sanskrit meters in grammar has been utilized by Pujya Sri Swamiji to

extoll the wonderful, most noble and sacred qualities of Goddess Bhagavati

Rajarajeshwari. This is called "Devi Navakam", or "Namostute", as is it fondly called by

devotees. It was composed by Pujya Sri Swamiji in Dharmavati raga during Navaratri

celebrations some years ago (1997). Since then, for devotees it has caught up like wild

fire.

There is another very popular composition which is attributed to Shankaracharaya called,

"Ayi Giri Nandini Nandita Medhini". It is very rhythmic and alliterically very pleasing to hear

and has been very popular among the masses; but many Sanskrit scholars know that it

contains many grammatical mistakes. Swamiji says that Shankara Bhagavadpada

composed it very correctly, but secretaries who noted it down when Shankara composed it

put in some errors. And as people continued to sing it in the later years, those errors came

down in the stream. But Swamiji said he is very careful about the secretaries, and he

would not allow that to happen. Nevertheless, this composition, "Devi Navakam"

composed by Pujya Sri Swamiji, was hailed by most all the Sanskrit scholars as one of the

greatest masterpieces in Sanskrit composition. And all the pundits have accepted that

from Swamiji's divine hands this wonderful composition has come forth. Not only that, it

is also very pleasingly sounding for devotees. You may not hear it properly, but when you

hear it with headphones or when you hear it when devotees sing in a very slow rhythm or

slow manner, the sounds are so pure, so pristine, so full of the beejaksharas which Sri

Swamiji has composed in them, so full of devotional energy which Sri Swamiji has put in it,

and so full of Swamiji's Love and affection to Mother Goddess herself. So when you hear

it, you are transformed to Devi Loka. This composition that you heard was put with lot of

rhythm so that the dancing students could be helped. So for the students who learn dance

it can be used on stage. But when Swamiji sang it during Navaratri celebrations in a very

slow fashion, it had a gripping effect on the devotees. So that is why it is called Devi

Navakam, because it has nine stanzas in it. If possible, try to memorize. We will also put

the text on the website. It is a great prayer to Mother Goddess. Swamiji just now said that

during the Navaratri celebrations, on each day, Swamiji composed one stanza, and on the

ninth day, He sang all the nine stanzas making up this bhajan. So this bhajan was

composed while Sri Swamiji was in Mother Goddess worship, on each day of Navaratri, one

one stanza came out. It is called Dandeka. Dandeka is another form of...it's several steps

higher than a bhajan format, so it requires lots of Sanskrit literary expertise to compose it.

And added to this, the nine days of Sri Swamiji's Mother Goddess prayer is enmeshed in it.

So all the nine days gist of Mother Goddess worship is contained in this most powerful

bhajan, Devi Navakam."

 

 

These following paragraphs were taken from Dattapeetham.com:

 

"Lalitha Sahasra Nama" and "Lalitha Trishati" are two sacred hymns which Hayagriva gave

as initiation to the sage Agastya. In ÕTrishatiÕ, there are twenty names for each of the

fifteen Beeja Aksharas (seed-letters) of the Divine Mother. These three hundred names

reveal the philosophical significance of the Divine Mother.

 

This Sanskrit composition of Sri Swamiji contains the 300 names of Devi as explained in

the famous Sanskrit text 'Lalitha Trishati'. In today's Bhajan Sri Swamiji sang 40 names.

Each day Sri Swamiji will continue the Bhajan with more Devi names. By the last day, al the

300 names would be covered in this Bhajan. Sri Swamiji in a brief speech explained that

the Bhajan has many Beejaksharas which enhance the power of the composition..